Meet the ‘pizzly bear’: endangered polar bears are mating with grizzlys in Alaska

This polar bear-grizzly bear hybrid is called a pizzly bear, a grolar bear, a nanulak or a rare ursid hybrid. (Getty)

As climate change continues to threaten the habitat of the polar bear, the endangered creatures are being pushed further into contact with other bears.

In Alaska, this has led to cross-breeding with native grizzlys and the creation of ‘pizzly bears.’

Also called a grolar bear or a nanulak, this hybrid species has been known to occur both in the wild and in captivity.

It also appears the pizzly could withstand the effects of global warming.

‘This new type of bear is more resilient to climate change and better suited for warmer temperatures,’ said Paleontologist Larisa DeSantis told DailyMail.com. 

‘It is not looking good for polar bears.’

Polar bears are in rapid decline and DeSantis blames their disappearance on its specialized diet of blubber. With a decline in sea-ice the animals are unable to hunt seals and may have a hard time adapting to a warming Arctic. 

‘I’ve studied saber-toothed cats. Fossil records show they too had specialized diets and when the food supply went away, so did they,’ she said.

Retreating sea-ice due to global warming is threatening polar bear populations (Getty)

Meanwhile, Alaska and Canada’s grizzly bears are reportedly moving north because of the increase in temperatures where they are.

So the two types of bear are being pushed closer together by the changing climate.

DeSantis and her team compared the mouths of polar bears to that of the grizzly bear, which has shown the ability to adapt in periods of warming.

‘The polar bear and grizzly bear shared a common ancestor 500,000 to 600,000 years ago, but then they diverged,’ she said.

‘Molars of a polar bear are smaller than a grizzly, but their canines are larger.’

‘This is because they are essentially eating jello all day, basically blubber.’

‘But to compensate, polar bears have elongated skulls that are well adapted to affectively hunt seals.’

Larisa DeSantis, an associate professor of biological sciences, has studied the differences in the two types of bear (DeSantis Lab)

Meanwhile, if climate change isn’t stopped, it’s been suggested that polar bears could be wiped out by the end of the century.

Studies have already shown that declining sea ice is likely to decrease polar bear numbers, perhaps substantially. The latest report puts a timeline on when extinction might happen by modelling the energy use of polar bears to calculate their endurance limits.

The study found that under a high greenhouse gas emissions scenario, it’s likely that all but a few polar bear populations will collapse by 2100. Even if moderate emissions reduction targets are achieved, several populations will disappear.

Dr Steven Amstrup, chief scientist of Polar Bears International, who was involved in the study, told BBC News: ‘What we’ve shown is that, first, we’ll lose the survival of cubs, so cubs will be born but the females won’t have enough body fat to produce milk to bring them along through the ice-free season.’

‘Any of us know that we can only go without food for so long.

‘That’s a biological reality for all species’.

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